A Wisconsin District Attorney’s Office Can Be Corrupt

Those skeptical that a corrupt District Attorney’s Office can flourish in Wisconsin for a long period should realize it has already been established that this has taken place.

Joseph Paulus was the Winnebago (Oshkosh area) District Attorney for 12 years. Paulus had a relatively high media profile of a hard-nosed crime fighter. He utilized this image and his heavy-handed tactics to make himself feared in Winnebago County in both the legal community and the community at large. The number of citizens, lawyers, judges and elected officials willing to take him on was slim, slim, and slim.

Due to very unusual circumstances, Paulus was exposed, leading to him being convicted federally in 2004 for taking bribes to fix at least 22 cases. He received an incredibly light sentence of 58 months!!! Why was Paulus treated so lightly? The word was, because he was in position to bring down very powerful interests and individuals.

There has been very little inquiry to how Paulus was able to flourish for so long, with so few willing to resist his obvious corruption and his blatant abuse of power. For the time being, it cannot be disputed that it is a proven fact that court-related corruption can take place in Wisconsin.

However, it is important to realize that the corruption that is taking place in Dane County, much of which is outlined in this document and substantiated in the referenced attachments, is significantly more disturbing than what was taking place in Winnebago County. The protection of the Dane County corruption reaches the Wisconsin Supreme Court and has been obscured by the Wisconsin State Journal. And the pervasive Dane County corruption even involves matters that touch upon homicide.